Ghana celebrates Black Stars World Cup success.

Ghanaians are in a jubilant mood following the 2-1 victory by the countrys Black Stars over the United States in the final first-round match of the World Cup on 22 June. Immediately the whistle was blown at the ninety-fifth minute signalling the end of the football match, Ghanaians poured into the streets of the capital amidst drumming and dancing expressing their gratitude to God and the players, writes Beatrice Amoah from Accra, who watched the match at her office in Kokomlemle near Accra New Town. Drivers joined the celebration by tooting their horns as fans paraded through all the major streets of Accra.

Supporters indeed had much to celebrate: this is the first ever appearance of the Ghanaian national side in the football World Cup, and the Black Stars are the only African team to have made it through to the knock-out round of the competition. Accra New Town was a spectacle, as was Kokomlemle, continues Amoah. Almost every single fan was clad in the red, gold, black and green colours of the national flag of Ghana to indicate the nations victory and, in a carnival-like style, sang songs of victory deep into the night. The old and the young celebrated alike.

The situation was much the same in Cape Coast, 100 km to the west of the capital, where the streets were packed with people partying all day and night, according to Dave Hollis, a US citizen working on the West African Gas Pipeline project in Ghana. The Black Stars will now meet Brazil, the competition favourites, at Dortmund on 27 June. Everyone here is very optimistic about the Brazil match, but it's obviously a long-shot, writes Hollis. I hope they do well. Ghana deserves something cool like that. Amoah takes a more philosophical stance, pointing out that it does not really matter if Ghana does not win because we have already proved our worth.